Welcome, Have a Look Around.

Hello, thanks for stopping by the site. I hope that you find the information here helpful. I just wanted to say that I'm not an expert, simply a woman who has witnessed, first-hand, the effects of breast cancer on a loved one. No, I don't know everything, but I do my best to find the information that you need to know about breast cancer, so that you don't have to. If you have any questions or requests, feel free to email me at: kimaclemons@gmail.com and let me know.

In Honor of Our Heroes

This site was created in honor of my mom who lost the fight with breast cancer in December of 2007. The Pink Ribbon Crusade is dedicated to spreading awareness, supporting research, and connecting those currently battling breast cancer with the resources they need, in the hope that one day, breast cancer will be fully eradicated.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Have you heard about a rare form of breast cancer that goes undetected by breast exams and even mammograms? Did you know that this cancer accounts for 2%-5% of all cases of diagnosed breast cancer but that it accounts for 25% of breast cancer related deaths because the diagnosis came too late?

Dear readers, the cancer I'm referring to is called Inflammatory Breast Cancer or IBC. It is the fastest growing breast cancer and it claims so many lives each year. The worst part is that nothing that you know about breast cancer prepares you for IBC; You're not going to find a lump.

The general rule of thumb for breast cancer survivability is early detection, ideally before any symptoms are noticed. Sadly, this isn't the case for IBC, because most of the time, symptoms are what leads to it's diagnosis.

The problem with IBC is that it's symptoms mimic and are often confused with much more commom ailments such as mastitis or infection. And while your doctors attempt to treat these other problems, critical time is lost and the real treatment is delayed.

Here's the lowdown on IBC:

Signs/Symptoms:

Swelling and tenderness

Itching and unusual warmth

Inverted nipple

Crusted or dimpled skin on the breast or nipple

Enlarged lymph nodes

Discoloration

Treatment

The first line of defense against IBC is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is done to limit the growth of this fast growing cancer and hopefully kill it. Once chemotherapy is complete, "a mastectomy with lymph node removal is the preferred surgery. Unfortunately, since there isn’t usually a lump and since the cancer is in the skin, a lumpectomy is not possible." (HealthCentral.com)

Prognosis:

With treatment, the five-year survival rate of IBC is roughly 50% while the ten-year survival rate is only about 30%.

What disturbs me the most is the lack of information available on this deadly disease. It took a lot of searching to turn up even the most basic of statistics, most of which are outdated. Right now, the most important thing is to get awareness out there. If you suspect that anything is wrong with your breasts, toss out the possibility of breast cancer to your doctor. It may not be breast cancer, but at least you will know for sure.

Here is an amazing video about IBC

Note: The table image and the quote are both from the book Inflammatory Breast Cancer: A Breast Disease Bookby G. Owen Johnson.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month has come around again. We at Pink Ribbon Crusade, urge you to make this month count!

So to kick off this month, pink style, I've rounded up several ways that you can help in the fight against breast cancer. The best part, each one of these are free!

Stop by The Breast Cancer Site once a day to click the pink button. There is also a quick and painless feature that you sign up for allowing The Breast Cancer Site to email you daily reminders to stop by and click the button. 100% of the donations come from site sponsors and go toward free mammograms to those in need. Since 2000, they have "funded free mammograms for more than 11,000 women in need."

Sign up for Army of Women. There are many studies that you can participate in to further breast cancer research. And you don't have to have breast cancer to participate. Just click on the "current projects" link and browse around. You're sure to find one that you can participate in.

Wear pink. And tell people why you choose to wear it.

Link to resources. This is great way to get word around. If you find a site that you want to tell people about, go ahead and tell people. You can:link to them on your blog or website, even your myspace and facebook pages, you can twitter about them. It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you are getting the message out there.